1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to animal traps and, more particularly, to a rodent trap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The control of rodents, particularly in the home, has been a problem for many years. Homeowners are reluctant to use poisons and have had problems with setting traps and with removal of the carcass from the trap. To this end, various mousetraps and rodent traps have been designed which include either disposable trap elements or which hide the trapped animal.
Burwell (U.S. Pat. No. 2,581,628) discloses a mouse and rat trap with an improved bait holder which is an enlarged treadle. The treadle does make it easier to bait the trap, but the user must still remove the dead mouse from under the striker. Sousa (U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,230) uses a conventional mousetrap which is combined with a paper bag. When the mouse sets off the trap, the trap is simultaneously pulled into the bag. Trap and mouse are disposed of without contact by the user. However, baiting Sousa's trap is still a problem.
Others have made traps of box-like configurations. Various means are used to trap the animal inside the box and to kill it with strikers which operate from the sides and tops of the boxes. Harte (U.S. Pat. No. 1,690,369) uses a box to enclose the bait only. Schroeder (U.S. Pat. No. 2,684,553) discloses a rodent trap in which striker means is inside a box. Goebel's trap (U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,524) uses a movable partition to trap a rodent in a chamber. Most of these require complex assembly and the use of bait.
Some traps are designed to be at least partially disposable. Among these, Jordan (U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,493) uses a system of interconnected modular units to trap an animal and includes a sealed capture module with a disposable liner. Sensing et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,149) discloses a disposable mousetrap which catches the mouse in a disposable box. Dobratz (U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,280) shows a disposable mousetrap in which the breaking of the bait inside a box causes the striker to be released from the sides of the box. Lehman (U.S. Pat. No. 2,669,056) shows a plunger assembly inside a container which hides the carcass from view so that it can then be disposed of without the user touching the animal. Thayer (U.S. Pat. No. 1,709,199) shows a conventional mousetrap including on one trap end a paper bag open at one bag end. The bag is supported by a vertical wall on the trap and with a wire loop. The bag is set head-on to the trap to elongate the trap. Bait is used and the spring mechanism has additions to make it larger. A stiff bag is necessary and the rodent enters from only one end.
None of the prior art shows a baitless mousetrap with disposable elements to solve the dual problems of premature springing of the trap when setting the bait, and easy and clean removal of animal remains.